Okay, so thanks to the animated DS9 art posted I can't get the idea of a new Trek animated show out of my head. So... let's chat about that.

What would the Trek fans in these parts like in an animated series? What era? Which crew, or a new one? Starfleet Academy or regular service? Something in between? What style of show? What tone? Episodic vs serial? What style of art? Etc.

The only provisos being: It's animated, it's a 30 minute time slot, and it's generally aimed younger (think Clone Wars). It doesn't have to be "for kids", but being family friendly definitely helps.

Gimme all your pitches for a show, no matter how out there or unlikely to happen. What would a new Trek animated series have to do to get you on board?

While it might not be a common opinion in here, I think an animated series based in the alternative universe(abrams) would be awesome.

Or better yet... I've been holding this for a while now... so here we go:

How about a animated series about life at starfleet academy. No major characters, all new ones though. There can be some rumors of that nerd Spock or some cameos, but keep 'em small otherwise that will be all the show stands on.

Anyway, so we have some cadets at the academy. they'll go to classes and through that and usual school conflicts we get the trek we all love. The stuff where morals are questioned, philosophy is discussed. There can be a group of students that are fighting for the rights of Starfleet's(at the time) enemies, the Klingons, just as there were students standing up for the citizens of Iraq at my College. We could have an episode or two about the advancements in AI and have an homage to "What Makes A Man". Students could debate with their professors about the implications of ABSOLUTELY following the Prime Directive.

But here's the kicker, don't mention Vulcan for the first season. Leave it debatable as to what universe this is. Then as a season finale either show a vulcan student going home to visit his parents on nice peaceful Vulcan..........or have everyone in a panic as more and more news comes in telling of the ultimate destruction of Vulcan. None-the-less, keep it hush hush for the first year.

I really like your ideas, although I'm hesitant because I know that the animated series we've already had wasn't (in my opinion) as amazing as I'd hoped. This also brings to mind a few TNG episodes--The First Duty, and Lower Decks, which both discuss the lives of those who aren't in command. I think if the show reflected those episodes, it could be really cool, but if it's merely about their education it might not be as interesting (your suggestion of discussing prejudice against Klingons would be an excellent way to prevent that). That said, I don't think we'll be ready for another series until all the JJ Abrams movies are out.

I would like to see something like DS9 meets voyager. A large military space station gets converted to a makeshift starship due to being stranded out of the middle of no where. Instead of being stranded in another part of the milk way make it another galaxy altogether. While the military runs the show they are having to be responsible for a large civilian population. It's always a struggle to do things the proper star fleet way and the way things need to be done for the collective good.

The series MUST have a STRONG captain and must include at least two characters that are semi unique from other series. (No Archer captain types) Examples of unique characters are Data, Worf, Dax, 7of9, and the doctor. These unique characters must have some sort of flaw that makes them completely stand out or do things differently. The captain must be something of a first for the series. Pacard British, Sisco Black, and Janeway Woman. I'd really love to see Worf or a Klingon take the helm. Hell, make the captain a fat Irishman with a temper that makes Sisco look look tame.

Thinking about a plot for a series like this in more detail.. Image if voyager at anytime could have gone home but they would never be able to return ever. They have constant contact with star fleet and the captain was talked into remaining there until something was gained or a threat was eliminated. The crew can never know as they would almost automatically choose to leave. Imagine the tension in the air to keep the lid on the secret.

Since there's many many people on board you could have any number of old ST races appear in and out as needed. It would be a great mix of old and new. Imagine a group of Friangis being asked to take the helm of a small star fleet ship and work together.